Cendrillon
by vocaloidinspirations
Summary: When servant Hatsune Miku is assigned a job as personal assistant to Prince Kaito, they form a close friendship. But when a masked man comes to her and threatens to torture those she loves if she does not kill the prince at the annual peace festival, will Miku be able to do it? Especially if she discovers that she wants to be more than just friends? Based off of the song Cendrillon
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi everyone! Just wanted to let you know a few things before you read this story. First, this is my first serious fan fiction story and I am not going to abandon it, so you have my sincere promise that I will finish it even if it takes years to do so (let's hope it doesn't!). Also I do not own any of the vocaloid characters or the song Cendrillon, only the writing is mine. Finally, just to clarify something; there are many ways to interpret the lyrics of some vocaloid songs and that includes this one. So this is one of my versions of the song Cendrillon, and if you see on my profile more than one story by the same name it is because I had multiple ideas for one song- there is the future possibility of more stories named Cendrillon by me in the future. So I guess that is it. Oh wait… Please, please, PLEASE r&r because I love to know what people think about my stories.**

The sunlight streamed in through the windows in the servants quarters of the palace and Hatsune Miku opened her eyes to the glare. She shut them again quickly and covered her face with her arm. Getting out of bed, she went into the small storage room that served as a closet for her and the other servants. It was where they stored the pile of clean uniforms; light blue dresses that had an apron attached to the skirt in the front and white hems. She grabbed one and headed to the bathroom to change, and to put her hair into its signature pigtails. Staring into the mirror, she pretended that she was looking at a stranger. What she saw was a skinny, slightly short girl with light turquoise hair and eyes, an average face, and what technically is considered curves, but only by the slightest definition. She walked back into the servant quarters to see where she was to be assigned work in the palace for the next week. Along the way she passed her best friends in the world, Gumi and Luka. Pausing on her way she greeted them.

"Miku, thank goodness you're here! Gumi is having an emergency and you are a lot better with this stuff," Luka told her in a rushed tone. She looked at Gumi who was looking faint and she was almost positive that this 'emergency' had something to do with the Prince, his royal majesty Prince Kaito. Sighing, Miku turned to her green-haired friend.

"Gumi this better be pretty important because I have to get my assignment for this week. If I happen to get kitchen duty Cook will be serving _me_ for dinner if I am late."

"This is the most important and amazing thing that has ever happened to me, EVER! So I was walking to the sleeping quarters last night right, and I hear the royal event coordinator talking to a strange assortment of our employers. So I peek around the corner and see Cook, the laundry woman, the head maid, that new guy they brought in last year from… well I can't remember but he is the head of cleaning, and all the other usual's. And I would have just turned around and headed back to my bunk but I heard them mention the prince," At this point Gumi blushed slightly and Miku rolled her eyes, but if Gumi noticed she kept quiet. "I decided to just, you know, sate my curiosity and hear what they were saying and they said that the prince's advisors are making all eligible young women go to this year's royal ball. And here I am going to skip forward a little bit because really, who needs all those silly little details, but basically the servants are required to come to the ball also as GUESTS! They want the prince to find a wife through this ball so all single ladies must come and celebrate at the royal ball the 234th year of peace on earth."

Miku must have looked puzzled because she _was _puzzled. Servants, come to the royal ball? The most prestigious and important event of the earthen year? Crazy. That was the only way she could describe it. But Gumi didn't embellish the truth, and she didn't try to fill in the gaps of things she didn't know so what she was saying must have actually been said. Someone must have specifically said that servants were to be present as guests. But the real question was why the prince, the world's most eligible bachelor, would be looking for a wife at the age of only 19.

"Why would the prince be looking for a wife? He is only 19 years old, and what is more is that most of the eligible women in this kingdom are teenagers. I mean really, you are going to tell me that Prince Kaito is going to go to the ball, take a look at a servant like for example Miku, who is only 16, and take her to be his bride? Come on, what are the chances the prince would even look at a servant girl as a real option for a wife? He will probably just end up getting one of those marriages which is just for show and politics and has no love whatsoever. No offense to anyone, I am just pointing out the overly obvious." Luka beat Miku to the punch, asking the exact question that was swirling around Miku's head. Why would he even consider looking at a servant girl? Luka found the most blunt and realistic way of asking the question on Miku's mind. That was one of the things that Miku loved about Luka. Despite being a servant, she had confidence in herself and was more than willing to offer you her opinion or the truth without you ever asking. Even the way she walked oozed with confidence, head up looking into the distance as if everything and everyone was beneath her, her pink hair being tossed over her shoulder. But she was still polite and kind despite her lack of sugar-coating.

Gumi was not even fazed by the harsh truth in Luka's words though. Her eyes bright, her short pixie-like hair framing her face, and the small grin that she often sported made Miku think that it would be hard for the prince not to mistake her for a noblewoman. Yes, Miku had no doubts about the prince finding her friends attractive and even worthy of his promise in matrimony, but Miku? Miku was nothing. Not pretty. Not noticeable. Not graceful, demure, confident. The only constant she could be counted on was her ability to seamlessly blend in, unnoticed and hidden from the prying eyes of the castle. So the words that Luka said really only applied to her. But Miku was not one to be bothered by this.

"Listen guys, I would love to discuss this amazing new development in Gumi's future relationship with His Majesty, but I really need to get my assignment," Miku said eyeing both of her friends with a look that clearly said _if-you-make-me-late-to-whatever-my-job-is-I-will-make-you-regret-it_. Luka and Gumi knew better than to hold her back, and so Miku was on her way. Along the way to the job listing board Miku couldn't help but think of the prince. He truly _was _handsome, with unruly blue hair and a face that made you content to just sit and stare at. He was the main spokesperson for the country's recently established 'Let's Get Fit' campaign, which was started out of the need to lower obesity rates, which caused him to have defined muscles and a six-pack, which Miku knew from when he went swimming once and she was a pool-side servant that week. _What a great week that was,_ she thought to herself. She approached the board and scanned for her name. She should be getting one of the better jobs because people had started to notice how hard and good of a worker she was. Skimming the list she found her name.

**Megurine Luka… Kitchen duty**

**Hatsune Miku… Personal servant to His Majesty, Crown Prince Kaito**

Well speak of the devil.


	2. Chapter 2

Miku hadn't realized that her mouth was hanging open until a passing kitchen boy called out to her "Better close your trap before you start catching flies!" She closed her mouth and glared at the boy. He decided to start walking away quickly. _Smart boy, _Miku thought to herself. She decided to find the man in charge of assigning the jobs. _Let's see, his office is around here somewhere._ Miku looked around and saw a long hallway to her right that led to the offices of the main executives regarding the various jobs that Gumi had earlier mentioned overhearing talk about inviting the palace servants to the ball. She started to wonder, if all the servants were attending, then who would serve? Shaking her head to focus on the task at hand, she walked into the hallway. Lining the walls were doors, at least thirty on either side. Miku would have gotten lost if not for the plaques next to the doors that said the name of the person whose office it was. After walking past maybe ten doors, she came across one that read:

**Dr. Hanketsu – Servant Assignment Coordinator **

_I guess this is it,_ Miku thought to herself. She took a breath and knocked. After about five minutes, a tall intimidating man came out of the office. When he saw Miku, surprise flitted across his face before he blinked it away and scowled down at her. His height and demeanor made Miku feel small. She had always thought of herself as willowy, but this man made her feel downright _childish_. After a moment the man spoke in a brusque, slightly irritated tone.

"Yes?" Clearing her throat, Miku gulped and then replied.

"Um, my name is Hatsune Miku, and I think that my job position may not be correct." She squeaked out the words at first and then tried to sound more confident. After a beat, the man did the last thing she expected. He smiled.

"Ah yes, Miku. Please come in and allow me to explain," he said turning to the side and holding the door open with one hand while gesturing with the other for her to walk in. The office was small and cozy, with classy furnishings, and comfortable padded chairs at the desk for her to sit on. He waved at the chairs.

"Please feel free to take a seat. Now allow me to introduce myself. I am Doctor Hanketsu, and as you most likely already know because of the lovely sign outside my door, I am in charge of the servant assignments. I also look over the work done by the servants, and using my observations plus recommendations from others I place you in a certain position based on your abilities." At this point he paused in his speech and held up a finger, then reached into one of his drawers and pulled out a manila folder. Opening it up, he showed her that the papers inside were progress reports. On her. Miku stared at the crisp pieces of paper and then at him questioningly.

"Excuse me sir, but I came because I was wondering if you may have assigned me to the wrong job. I know that people have been watching me closer lately, and I have often heard praise about my work, but I do not think that I am the most qualified to serve the prince directly and I think that there was not so much praise that someone would purposefully give me such an honorable position." He looked at her like she was crazy for a moment and then started to chuckle. He folded his hands on the table and smiled.

"My dear young Miku, you are becoming quite the talked about servant. All of your executors are raving about your work, your progress report has no discipline entries and you have an impressive track record regarding the quality of your work that is unmatched. To put it bluntly, you are currently the top servant in the castle. So it was not a mistake to assign the top worker to the top job was it? I could always assign you to the laundry room- that is if you would prefer it."

She stared at him, and after a beat she realized he was asking her for an answer. She quickly shook her head no.

"No, I am truly honored that I have received such a prestigious work position, and would not prefer laundry work to it. I was just unaware that I was so highly recommended." She sat fidgeting for a minute until he interrupted the silence the room had been engulfed in after she had finished talking.

"Well you better hurry. Wouldn't want to keep the prince waiting," Dr. Hanketsu said to her standing up and opening the door for her to depart. As she walked out he called her name. She turned around to face him.

"I do not think I have to remind you that the information I have disclosed regarding your servant status is not to be repeated. It is of the upmost confidence, and should be treated as such." She nodded once, stiffly, and then walked quickly down the hallway to find the prince's quarters. Dr. Hanketsu's words echoed in her ears all the way there. _The information I have disclosed regarding your servant status is not to be repeated. It is of the upmost confidence, and should be treated as such. _Why was her position as the top servant so secret? What bad could come of telling someone about it? His words were strange and she was not quite sure what to make of them. But even so, she decided to keep the information secret. At least for now.

Arriving at the Prince's chambers, she stopped- gathering the courage to knock. As she lifted her left hand and made it into a fist to rap on the door, her only thoughts were _maybe I am not as good at blending in as I thought_. Then her knuckles connected with the cool ebony wood of the elaborate door.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hi! I am so sorry about the long wait for this chapter. I wasn't really sure how to write it, and then I had so many things to do that I did not have much time to work on it. I hope you guys like it, please review so I can know what you guys think! I love every one of you for giving up your time to read this, and I hope to get chapter four written and posted by next Friday.**

Miku waited one second, two. Then there was a shuffling sound. A lock clicking open. And then she was staring at the most beautiful guy she had ever seen. _Wow, _she thought. _Just… wow. _ There was an awkward pause and then the prince cleared his throat.

"Um, may I help you?" he asked, not unkindly. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment when she realized she had been caught staring. _It is not my fault, _she thought to herself in defense. _I mean they should have told me that the pictures did not do him justice. _And they didn't. His dark blue hair mussed up in a sexy way, his crooked half smile giving him a dimple, perfectly tan skin… he was a god. A tall, sexy, tight-shirt-that-shows-his-defined-muscles wearing, prince. She stopped herself from swooning.

"Your Majesty, I'm Miku and I am your personal servant this week." She squeaked out the words, then she cleared her throat and repeated herself only louder this time.

"Hi Miku," he said warmly and then he gestured for her to enter his chambers. "Come inside. I am pleased to meet you." Then in a gentlemanly gesture that she did not see coming he bent down and brought her hand to his lips. Gently he placed a kiss on the back of her pale hand and then smiled a small shy smile before he straightened again and walked inside the doors. She followed.

The room was less of a room than an entire floor of the castle. Once inside he showed her the sitting room, music room, bathroom, closet (which was twice as big as her old bedroom had been before she moved to the castle for work), and the tour ended inside his bedroom. She looked around and was surprised by the modest furnishings and simple elegance of the room. Along the northern wall was a large wooden bed, elegantly simple. Modest decorations littered his desk, and on his wall were pictures of his mother, father, and him. The walls were a tasteful cream color that managed to catch the light and make the room look big and airy in the day, and then capture the shadows and make the room seem cozier at night. She knew this from when her mother turned their house into a boarding home. She had walked through the paint store and helped her mother pick out this very shade for the bedrooms in the house. The memory gave her a stab of pain and she fought the tears that began welling in her eyes. Her mother, her sweet mother who she had left to try and help earn more money. The one person who had always been there. The one who had always been protective of her. The one she had failed to protect when their world came crashing down around them. Her knees buckled and she started to fall forward but careful hands grabbed her and kept her upright.

"Are you alright?" Prince Kaito's eyes were filled with worry. "I can get the doctor if you want."

"No your highness I am fine, just dizzy that is all." She waved away his offer and stood up ready to work. "What would you like for me to do? I am completely in your service." She looked at him expectantly.

"Well actually I am not quite sure. This is the first time I have had a personal servant before. And please do not say 'your majesty' or 'your highness'. Just call me Kaito as if we were old friends." She raised her eyebrows when he said that she was his first servant in surprise. Why was there a need for one now?

Noticing her look of disbelief he continued on.

"It's true, I swear. My father said that I should start having a personal servant so he asked for the job to be given to the top servant. He told me it was necessary to have someone to take care of my greatest needs and wants at the moment." To his credit he blushed and she could see the rest of what the conversation had been about. Nervous panic built in her stomach. The king had a reputation for taking home beautiful women after galas and balls and what not. Who knows how many awkward mornings the prince had suffered through, entertaining a stranger with polite small talk over breakfast when his own mother, the kind Queen Teto, died two years ago from contracting the green fever during a business trip to the Green Country.

Clearing his throat, the prince grabbed her hand and started to walk out of the door.

"Come, let us talk in the parlor. I really have no use for a personal servant…" He looked at her for a moment and then continued walking. "But I sure could use a friend." Offering a small smile, he led her to the parlor and they sat down. "So tell me, how did you end up as a servant here?" He sounded genuinely curious and she thought about lying for a moment, but then decided that there was really no point.

"My father left my mother and me when I was twelve," she began. "He was greedy, and he did not leave a penny to our names. My mother was worried but she was not going to give up and send me to an orphanage so I got a job repairing clothes for some of the rich townspeople. My mother converted our house into a boarding house, and I helped run the place with her. We renovated whatever we could to attract business-we would have starved otherwise-but there was not much money to use on renovations so we really just ended up painting the house a different color inside. It is actually the same shade of cream as your bedroom walls.

"Despite having to work and being abandoned by my father and basically everything in my life going wrong, it was the happiest my mom and I had ever been. We no longer had my dad to deal with, and we made some close friends through the new business. There were not always enough rooms for everyone and for a while I ended up sleeping on the floor of my old room while two adorable six year old kids who moved in with their families slept in the bed, but I was happy and that was all that mattered. And I didn't really mind letting the two kids have the bed. They became the best of friends and looked up to me as an older sister. We were almost family and I was sort of like their main role model because they were often ignored by their parents. And sometimes I cannot believe how much I miss them." Her eyes were shining with tears at the memories she had hidden for so long.

She had almost forgotten the prince was still there until he started talking. "What happened to the kids and your mom? What happened to lead you here when you were so content to stay like that?" He sounded almost sad, like he actually cared about what had occurred to wrench her out the happy life she had made with her mother. Sighing, she continued.

"Somebody stole from us. Almost all of our savings were gone. And then taxes were raised. We didn't know what to do. We tried raising the rent but then we lost some of our clientele. By the time winter arrived we didn't have enough money to keep the heat running. And we lost even more business. Soon there was only about twenty guests left, and before the robbery we had almost reached sixty. We had a big house," she shrugged while saying the last part because he had an astonished look on his face. "My mother decided to go to the Green Country and ask for some help financially from her cousin, they had been awfully close. But she contracted the green fever while there and died." Miku's eyes filled with ears and she had to stop and swallow. She took a deep breath, and then another. Finally she continued. "My mother's cousin, her name is Meiko, she agreed to come and help me with the house. She was willing to help with money and soon the house was bustling with activity. But I had become depressed. Nothing made me happy anymore, not even being with Len and Rin- the two little kids I shared a room with. Finally Cousin Meiko pulled me aside and told me that she was worried that I was going to bury myself so deep in my guilt that I would never be able to escape it again, and that what was even worse was her money was starting to run out. She was getting a profit from the house but the expenses were draining away any profits she made. I needed to get a job and so I applied for a servant job here. And, well you can see where I am now." She looked at him and saw true pain on his beautiful face from what she had told him.

"Do most of the servants here have similar stories? I cannot believe that, here I am living an overall good life, and the people working for me are suffering. I am so sorry." He looked like he was guilty, and she suddenly needed to talk about something, anything, different.

"Yes, many of the servants are like me. They are young girls and they have had hard lives. But we are not suffering. We are treated well and paid fairly, and we support each other. I have been working here for three years and if I had not come here then I could be permanently depressed, maybe even dead, and I never would have met my two best friends, Luka and Gumi. By the way Gumi will hate me for telling you this, but she is absolutely in love with you." He laughed and the mood became lighter. They talked for another hour or so, and then Kaito asked her if she wanted to come with him to see the garden.

"It is very beautiful this time of year, and it is too nice of a day to spend entirely inside. The orchids have just opened up…" he trailed off unsure. For a moment it was easy to think of him not as a prince, but a normal guy. This last thought relaxed her.

"I would love to see the garden Kaito. Shall we go now?"

He nodded and smiled. She felt herself smile as well and he gently tugged her off the couch and after him to see the garden. _A whole week of this,_ she thought to herself and her smile grew wider. _I hope it never ends._


End file.
